An easy olive oil-based cherry bundt cake you can mix in a bowl (no mixer needed), filled with fresh cherries. Make this not-too-sweet cake for a simple, elegant dessert.

An overhead view of a cake with white icing and fresh cherries on top.

In the spirit of less is more (especially when it comes to making my homemade cakes) I’m happy to share my recipe for cherry-studded cake, baked in an old-fashioned bundt pan.

Cakes made with oil are a staple of Mediterranean kitchens, places where olives grow happily (and I imagine the people do, too). In fact, one of my best food memories is tasting an authentic Italian olive oil lemon cake, a treat I enjoyed on a trip years ago.

Compared to butter cakes with fancy layers, a simple olive oil cake like the one I fell in love with in Italy is really the most humble of homemade desserts. After all, there’s not much fuss involved in making the batter — you don’t even need an electric mixer!

A slice of cherry bundt cake on a cake server, with white icing and fresh cherries on top.

I pulled out my favorite Bundt pan to bake this cake, just to add that classic ring shape that everyone loves.

A bowl of cherries on a marble surface.
A bowl of pitted cherries.

How to pit cherries

Let’s face it. Cherries don’t come pitted, so that means someone has to remove them. Before you get to work, take my advice and put on an apron or an old t-shirt. Pitting cherries can be a juicy task, but that gorgeously-colored juice will likely stain your clothes.

  • The most efficient way to remove the pit from a cherry is with a tool called a cherry pitter, an inexpensive gadget that also comes in handy for pitting olives (all hands up for multipurpose kitchen tools). To use the cherry pitter, position the cherry on the rounded side of the tool, then press down. The plunger will push the pit out like magic.
Overhead photo of an iced bundt cake decorated with fresh cherries and rosemary sprigs.

Olive oil in cake batter

Olive oil is a good fat to use in cakes and for baking in general. Because it’s lighter than butter, cakes made with olive oil tend to have a bigger, fluffier crumb.

Olive oil is also acts as an emulsifier, binding with the dry ingredients to help make a moister cake. As a matter of fact, the most intensely fudgy brownies I’ve ever tried are made with olive oil.

A slice of cherry bundt cake on a cake stand.

Cherry bundt cake variations:

  • Substitute an equal amount of fresh blueberries, raspberries or blackberries for the cherries.
  • Stir in the zest of a whole orange or lemon for a lovely citrus hit.
  • Add one or two tablespoons of Grand Marnier, Curacao or other citrusy liqueur.
  • Go minimalist! Leave the fruit out of the cake completely.
  • Decorate the top of the cake with the glaze, dust with confectioner’s sugar or leave it nude.
Cherry Olive Oil Bundt Cake
4.71 from 17 ratings

Fresh Cherry Bundt Cake

Karen Tedesco
A simple recipe for moist and fruity cherry bundt cake (no mixer needed), with sweet fresh cherries and a creamy glaze.
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Yield: 12 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 55 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients
 

  • 12 ounces (345 g) pitted cherries, halved
  • 2 ¾ cups (400 g) plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 ⅓ cups (290 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 cup (250 ml) olive oil
  • 1 cup (250 ml) milk, dairy or plant-based
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract

Glaze

  • 1½ cups (180 g) confectioner’s sugar
  • Heavy cream

Equipment

Instructions
 

  1. Adjust oven rack to the center position and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray or oil a nonstick 12-cup fluted cake pan and lightly dust with flour (make sure to get into the crannies)
  2. Toss the cherries in a small bowl with 2 tablespoons flour. Shake off any excess.
  3. Stir together the remaining 2 ¾ cups flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a large bowl until combined.
  4. Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl. Drizzle in the oil little by little until emulsified. Stir in the milk and extracts.
  5. Pour the egg mixture over the flour mixture, stirring just until the batter is smooth and no flour is visible. Gently fold in the cherries.
  6. Scrape the batter into the pan. Bake 50-55 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out dry. Cool the cake in the pan 20 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Glaze:

  1. Stir the sugar and add 2 tablespoons heavy cream in a bowl until smooth. Add more cream by the tablespoon as needed, until you have a thick but spreadable consistency. Set the cake on a wire rack over a piece of parchment paper and drizzle the glaze over. Let it set slightly before slicing.

Notes

  • The glazed cake will keep for 2 days at room temperature.
  • Cake can be made 2 days before glazing – wrap securely in plastic and store at room temperature.
  • You can decorate the cake with whole cherries and some tender rosemary sprigs to fancy it up.
  • In general, I bake with mellow-tasting olive oils that have a buttery flavor profile over ones that taste green and grassy. The best thing to do is simply taste your oil before baking with it. You can substitute a good quality vegetable oil like avocado oil or canola oil.

Nutrition per serving

Calories: 417kcal Carbohydrates: 43g Protein: 24g Fat: 23g Sodium: 342mg Fiber: 1g Sugar: 5g

Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.

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